


For You

by teamchasez



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Hawaii Five-0 (2010) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-06 09:11:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3129098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamchasez/pseuds/teamchasez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off the song “For You” by Keith Urban. Steve gets called up for active service and he wonders would he be able to lay down his life for the brother to his left or right? It used to be an easy answer but now that he’s married and expecting his first child he’s not too sure of the answer anymore. Established Steve/Kono relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Steve McGarrett stared at the plane in front of him on the airstrip at Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base. He was dressed in his green cammies, cover and his usual combat boots. He had his sidearm strapped to his right thigh within easy reach of his firing arm. At his feet lay his pack; stocked full of everything he’d need and more.

He had done this before, packed up and moved out. But never since he took the job as being the leader of the Governor sanctioned Special Task Force – affectionately called Five-O. Since he transferred out of active duty status and into the Reserves some five years ago, he had given up ever again feeling the energy, the anticipation of shoving off to the unknown. To help right a wrong.

But this time, this time was different. He glanced down at his left hand. There was a light strip of skin circling his ring finger where a ring had sat comfortably for the past three years. He felt naked almost. It was a foreign feeling, reaching out with his thumb encountering flesh instead of the cool metal. Even as he thought about it, his thumb moved to rub the skin where his ring, up until that morning, had rested.

Fingers entwined with his, stopping the movement. And he was glad. He didn’t like that emptiness. He stared at the fingers tightly gripping his; their complexion contrasting against his. His eyes followed the toned arm until they rested on the chocolate colored gaze, glossy with tears, of his wife.

Kono.

God he loved her. He shifted so he was standing in front of her. With his free hand, he cupped the side of her face and watched as her eyes slid close at his touch. He saw a tear escape and he brushed it away with a soft caress of his thumb.

“Kono,” he whispered, feeling a tremor course through his body. His heart seized as a lump rose in his throat, constricting his airway. He breathed through his nose, hoping the feeling would pass. But he knew, he knew he would carry the feeling with him until he stepped foot back on the island; until he was back home with his family – his ‘ohana'. 

His hand slid from his wife’s cheek to tangle in her soft tresses. Cupping the back of her head, he only had to apply slight pressure before she was against his body; her head pressed against his neck. Her breath came is short gasps as she tried to hold her cries at bay. It tickled across his skin, damp from her tears. He dropped her hand, only to wrap his around her waist, securing her against him. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

He blocked out the whomp-whomp of the Marine Corps helicopters going about their daily practice flights. He blocked out the HMMWV driving toward a helicopter resting on the flight line. He blocked out the voices and laughter carried from a group of Marines gathered outside a hanger. He blocked out the crash of the waves in the distance. Nothing existed around him but the feel and touch of the woman in his arms.

He breathed deeply, taking in her scent. It was unique to her alone, a rich combination of her shampoo and body wash and her. There was nothing else like it. It remained in their bathroom after she showered. It attached itself to their bed linens, cocooning him at night when he held her in his arms. And if he was lucky, it would seep into the fatigues on his back and linger. So while he was away, the uninhabited scent would catch his breath and comfort him; remind him he wasn’t alone anymore. She was waiting.

There was no call or command. There was no ringing bell or alarm. But he felt that shot of adrenaline course through his body. And by the stiffening of Kono’s body, she knew it was time. And it still never ceased to amaze him that even though he had not said a word or moved a muscle in the slightest she could read him. That she automatically knew; they were that connected.

She tightened her grip on him and she breathed deep as if trying to capture what he had unabashedly did so earlier. Her hands fisted in the green fatigues. And she suddenly wished she could slide her hand beneath the blouse, pull the olive green undershirt from his trousers and touch skin. Touch the heated skin one more time.

She released a quivering breath as she raised her head, staring into the depths of her husband’s slate blue orbs. The words needn’t be spoken, she heard them loud and clear. Just as she knew, he heard the words she didn’t say. She felt a tremor and clenched her jaw against the onset, but her bottom lip trembled. She dropped her gaze to his chest and she ran her hands over it, making a show of straightening the uniform he took so much pride in.

He reached out and lifted her chin with a finger, his eyes locking onto hers immediately. He then clasped both her hands with each of his. His thumb rubbed over the rings, nestled on her fingers. He wavered slightly and he again stared at his naked digit.

She removed a hand from his grasp, bringing it to her own chest where she pulled a chain from her blouse. Glittering brightly off the sun’s rays was the wedding band that as recently as that morning, graced his finger. He clasped his hand around hers and the necklace and squeezed gently.

“I love you Kono,” he said softly and lowered his lips to hers. He tasted the saltiness from her tears as they rolled uncontrolled down her cheeks, mixing with their kiss.

“Steve,” Kono’s voice wavered. She palmed his cheeks with both her hands, her thumbs running over his lips. “I love you.” She kissed him with trembling lips before pressing her forehead to his. “Come back to me. To us.” She amended.

“I promise.” His voice never faltered as he vowed. He kissed her one last time before stepping back acknowledging the two men standing to the side. He rustled up a smile, the stoic mask not yet in place. Emotions danced across his face that at any other time would have been veiled. But he had learned, on his many trips like this before that this was not the place to hide what he was feeling. The unknowns were aplenty.

“Steve,” Chin grasped his brother’s hand in a firm hold before pulling him into a hug. “Don’t you dare hurt her.”

“Look after her,” Steve said in a lowered voice, his arm still around his teammate’s, his friend’s, his brother’s back. “And…”

Chin nodded as he released Steve from their hug. “You just take care of yourself, Brah.”

Steve turned toward Danny, his partner, his best friend. He had to smile as his partner stood on the flight line wearing slacks and a button up shirt. The tie had been forgotten years ago, but no matter how much teasing he took, he never strayed from the casual-professional look. It was a miracle they had been able to get him wearing flip flops. He was a work in progress.

“You can’t tell us anything?” Danny asked as he stood in front of his best friend with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Danny, you know I can’t. It’s…”

“Classified,” Danny nodded. “I know.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’d feel a helluva lot better if I was there… to have your back.”

“Danny, I have a bunch of Navy SEALs to watch my back.”

“Yeah, not the same. It’s not me and based off the last member of your team I had the pleasure of meeting, I’m not too trusting of their abilities.”

“That won’t happen,” Steve assured him, pushing aside the memory of a once close brother from his long ago SEAL team that had betrayed him. “Tell Gracie I love her.”

“She’s already writing a letter to send to you,” Danny withdrew his hands from his pockets as he was engulfed in a crushing hug. “You make me break the news to her that her Uncle Steve isn’t coming back because he went in guns ablaze without thinking, Steven, I’ll bring you back to life and kill you myself.”

“I’m sure I’ll hear your voice in my head warning me before I do anything stupid.” Steve hugged him tight. “Watch out for Kono and…”

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of her. I’ll drive ridiculously fast and out of control and I’ll be sure to drop at least one suspect in the shark tank just for you.”

Steve grinned. “Now that’d be great.”

Steve stepped back from his team. The people that had become his family after he was so sure there was no one left in the world for him. He leaned down and picked up his pack before he met each set of eyes in front of him. With a last look, he shouldered his pack and walked away from his family; a lone tear rolling down his cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

The letter was waiting for her on her desk when she arrived to work. The familiar scrawl jumped out to her and she quickly dove for it. Tears pooled in her eyes as she stared at the white envelope.

She dropped in her chair and tore the envelope open revealing a page full of her husband’s markings. She latched onto the chain around her neck, something she caught herself doing a lot since she said goodbye to Steve, sending him off to an unknown location for an unspecified amount of time. She fingered the wedding ring as she began to read, his voice floating through her mind.

_Kono –  
I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write something to you. This was the first chance we got to send anything home. We’ve been on the go since we first dropped down. I’m sorry I can’t tell you about where we are or what we’re doing. A fact that will no doubt drive Danny crazy. I can almost hear the rant in my head and that brings a smile to my face.  
It saddens me as I sit here and think of everything I’m missing. I never realized before just how long the days are. I’m sure it has something to do with knowing what is waiting on me back home. The pictures are still in my left breast pocket, right over my heart. I look at them as often as I can. The guys say I’m pretty lucky when I showed them your picture. I have to say I agree. I am lucky. I’m the luckiest man on earth that I get to have you in my life.  
I don’t know how long this is going to take. All I can do is hope that I’ll be there in time to see the birth of our little boy. I am simply amazed at the life growing inside of you, a life we created.  
It hurts thinking of everything I am missing. And I wish so bad that I could be there with you and experience it together. I wish there was some way to capture it all; every kick, every heartbeat heard at the doctor’s office, even every inch gained as you nurture our child.  
I stare at the picture of us, of our little family and realize that every single one of the men on my team, have the exact same photo. We all have a family waiting back home for us. They all come out at downtime and get folded back up and put in pockets when it’s time to go. We try not to pry and we pretend we don’t see any tears shed. I can’t believe how this is different than my last trip. I guess we were all young and full of ourselves back then. Not a worry in the world. Carefree. But this time, this time it’s completely different  
It’s not about me anymore. It’s about you, about our baby. It’s about Danny and Grace; Chin and Malia. My Ohana. Something that means so much to me. But as I think about it and look around at my guys doing the exact same thing I am, I realize that they all have Ohana’s too. Everybody has somebody waiting, hoping and praying they come back safe.  
There came a time, previously, when called upon, I would do anything to protect my team; to save the brother on my left or right from harm. And I would do it selflessly. I would have laid down my life, made the ultimate sacrifice to save my brother and I had no doubt the feeling was reciprocated. But now it’s weighing on my mind. So much has changed, so much is different. The stakes are so much higher. And I find myself wondering if this is still true. Could I do it? I am not trying to be a hero. I don’t want to die. But in this moment; in this world over here it all moves fast, everything happens within a blink of an eye you don’t get a chance to think twice.  
I don’t mean to scare you. I should crumble this up and throw it away and write something better. But I made a promise to you, a vow, that I would never hide from you. And you have proven on numerous occasions that you are strong and can handle anything life throws at you. You are my girl, Kono, and I do thank God for making our paths cross. We’ve been through so much together and there isn’t another woman I’d rather have in the passenger seat._

Kono swiped the tears away from her cheeks as she let Steve’s letter fall to her desk. She blamed the pregnancy hormones for the crack in her tough exterior.

“Oh Baby, your father is a great man,” she rubbed her stomach through the maternity top. His words in the letter weren’t shocking. That was her husband to a T. That was the type of man he was. He was the same way with her, Danny, Chin. He would sacrifice himself so they wouldn’t get hurt. And she knew that would carry on back to the SEALs. After all, that was where it all originated from.

“Hey Babe,” Danny said as he pulled open her office door. He frowned seeing the tears, his heart stumbling. “What’s wrong? What is it? Are you feeling okay? Is it the baby? Steve?”

Kono shook her head and gave the acting leader of the task force a watery smile. “I’m fine Danny. Hormones.” She could tell he didn’t believe her, so she lifted the letter in her hand. “Steve sent me a letter.”

Danny took the letter. “I’m hurt he didn’t send me one,” he said jokingly as he quickly read the letter. “How could he write something like this to you? How could he tell you that he would take a bullet and die for a member on his team?”

“Danny,” Kono stood up trying to head off the New Jersey native before he got into full rant mode.

“I knew it. I knew I should have found a way to go with him. To stop him from doing stupid stuff like this. He would do something like this too. It doesn’t matter to him that we’re back here waiting. That we’re stuck in limbo; that there’s something missing.”

“Danny,” Kono grabbed one of his flailing hands and held tight. “It’s okay. I’m not crying because he told me that. I wouldn’t expect anything less of him than that.” She said matter-of-factly. “And you know that’s how he is.”

Danny’s shoulders slumped as he sighed. “I know. Doesn’t mean I have to agree with him though.”

“He promised he was coming back,” Kono’s voice wavered. “And I’m holding him to that promise.”

Danny pulled Kono into his arms. “Me too.” He whispered in her hair.

“We got a case,” Chin opened the door to Kono’s office. He arched an eyebrow at his teammates in an embrace. He caught Danny’s look and changed the next question. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Cuz, hormones,” Kono smiled. “I got a letter from Steve.”

“That’s good.” Chin smiled, releasing a small breath at the first sign Steve was okay.

“You said something about a case?” Danny clapped his hands together as Chin filled them in as the three moved from Kono’s office.

“You sure I can’t come with?” Kono gave each man a dazzling smile as they gathered their things to head off to the crime scene.

“And have Steve come down on us for putting you in danger?” Chin shook his head. “Absolutely not. Sorry Cuz.”

“You know better than to ask that,” Danny told her. “Stay here and start looking up these names. Get all you can on them.” He kissed her forehead before walking away. “And write him back.”

*~* *~* *~*

“I figured I’d find you here.”

Kono looked up from her spot in the sand to see Chin smiling behind her. She turned back to stare out into the ocean as he settled himself next to her. She watched the waves build and the more experienced surfers catch them; the late afternoon hour spurning the tourists.

“Do you know that this is the exact spot you introduced me to Steve?” Kono said, breaking the silence between the two. “A lot of good things happened that day.”

“If I recall you punched out a tourist and had to strip down in front of a sleezeball.”

“Aside from that,” Kono said. “And that tourist had it coming,” she added as an afterthought. “You got to become a cop again, working with people who trusted you. Danny started to realize he didn’t have to be alone on the island anymore. I met Steve.”

“Who turned you into a mini-McGarrett. Had you kicking ass, taking chances, not thinking before you acted.”

“No, Brah,” Kono smiled. “He didn’t turn me into a version of himself, that’s who I already was. We were just alike and it showed.” She fell silent again, watching another surfer take a wave. “Did you know when he first asked me out, I turned him down?”

Chin looked at his cousin surprised. “Really?”

Kono nodded. “I didn’t want to be apart of the whole ‘sleeping with the boss’ cliché. I hadn’t been out of the academy that long and I didn’t want people to think that was why I was enlisted to Five-O. I had to prove that I was a part of Five-O because I deserved to be.”

“Cuz, you do deserve to be on this team. You were not kept on this team because Steve had feelings for you. You earned your spot on that very first case where you went into that warehouse for Sang Min and the rest of his friends and proved that you could hold your own.”

“I know that now, but back then I was just a naïve cop fresh out of the academy.”

“So what made you say yes then?”

“When he fell off that cliff he was climbing with Danny. I asked myself what I was doing. Why was I denying myself this man and the great things that might come from being together? Why did I care what a bunch of other cops thought? It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was what he thought, what I knew.”

“I’ve come to this place a lot over the years; sit here and just think; clear my mind. I came here after he was arrested and I was suspended. Didn’t know what was going to happen. I admit that was one of the few times I had every truly been scared. This big unknown was facing me. I was for sure going to lose my badge. I stole that money, there was a witness. But even bigger, the man I loved was in jail for murder.”

Chin would never forget that daunting week when the team had been disbanded. How the hurt and pain coursed through him knowing that his boss was in jail, his cousin under investigation and his friend unemployed because no one on HPD wanted to be the Haole’s partner.

“If I had to do it over again, I would. I would take Fryer’s offer to infiltrate Delano’s organization. I would do it, not for my badge, but for yours, for Danny’s, for Steve’s. To protect you guys,” she felt a tear slip down her cheek and she gave an irritated swipe with the back of her hand. “And I want to be mad at him. I want to yell at him for what he’s putting me through today. But I can’t. I can’t do it. Because that’s him. That’s who he is. That’s what he does. He protects people.”

Chin prided himself in being able to follow Kono’s thoughts and for making the jump from Fryer to Steve. In the car to the crime scene this morning, Danny had filled him in on Steve’s letter. And he agreed with Danny, wishing that Steve hadn’t filled his letter with thoughts of giving his life to save another.

“If something happens over there, he’s going to beat himself up over it. Brood over every detail of what he should have done versus what he did. And it will eat at him knowing that he could have done something different and got different results.

“And it’s hard to sit here and fight with myself, knowing the kind of man Steve is. I’d hate myself if I wrote to him telling him that under no circumstances was he to put himself in harm’s way, to do something crazy that would jeopardize his safety, would jeopardize him coming home to us.” She moved her hand across her belly, smiling through her tears when she felt a strong kick. “That’s the man I love. That is who I fell in love with. The man who would lay down his life for another.”

“Kono…” It was all Chin was able to get out before Kono cut him off. He figured he wasn’t meant to talk, give advice – though he was unsure what advice he could give. He was here to listen, to offer comfort. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side and lent his ear.

“And I’m scared Chin. For the first time in my life, I am truly scared. I thought I was scared when I blew out my knee and faced an unknown future. But that wasn’t anywhere close to this. I could lose him Chin. I could really lose him. And that scares me to death because I don’t know what I am anymore without him. Those lines blurred together right here on this spot. He is my life Chin and I’m scared.”


	3. Chapter 3

Steve’s eyes blinked open and he found himself staring up at the night sky. Smoky haze lingered against the black backdrop. There was a roar in his ears blocking any sounds. The smoky black was perforated by red lasers passing over him from the incendiary tracer rounds from his team’s weapons. They crisscrossed above him as they danced across the night.

There was a deafening roar of blood rushing in his ears. It blocked out the sounds he was sure was going on around him. The ground shook with vibrations and debris rained down upon him. His brain struggled to connect; the signals misfiring. He had a weird detached feeling going on and he struggled to remember but his mind wouldn’t cooperate.

A face appeared in front of him and he stared with blank gaze. The mouth moved above him but Steve couldn’t hear the words. His world titled and he felt himself rise. His eyes clenched shut and the pain blasted his body, radiating from limb to limb. There wasn’t a spot that didn’t scream pain.

The roaring in his ears got louder before it burst and images blasted through his brain as it finally connected. The middle of the night surveillance. The unknown group of assailants waiting for them. The rapid rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire from the assailants, the return fire from his team. The blasts of grenades launched by both friend and foe. The shouts from members of his team. It all bombarded him at once.

Steve groaned as he realized what he had done and what had happened. His mind screamed at him that this was wrong that there had been a mistake. But the stark truth slapped him in the face. He was injured.

It had happened just like he had told Kono in his first letter. There was no time to think twice, things happen within a blink of an eye. You just do and don’t think of the consequences. When the grenade flew through the air and rolled to a stop near the point man on his team, Steve didn’t think. He just reacted. Kono’s face flashed before his eyes as he realized the colossal mistake he had made.

 _‘No!’_ His mind screamed. He drew up the photographs safely tucked away in his breast pocket in his mind. The family picture of he and Kono, her back leaning against his chest. His arms wrapped around her, hers on top of his, their fingers entwined, both resting on the small four month baby bump. The second photo brought a lump to his throat; the grainy black and white sonogram of his son. 

He stopped moving and felt his body being lowered to the harden ground. Faces appeared in front of his again. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

 _‘What have I done?’_ He screamed in his head the pain worsened. He clenched his eyes shut trying to block out the pain; both physically and emotionally. He laid there on the ground with his team surrounding him, this time they were protecting him. But he couldn’t think of them. All he could think about was his family back home waiting for his safe return.

Hands fumbled over his body, he felt fingers press against his wrist checking his pulse. He wanted to talk to his team but he couldn’t. Why couldn’t he talk? Why wasn’t he able to move? What was happening? What was going on?

His heart stumbled as he imaged where this led. He pictured Kono answering the door to two men in Navy dress. He could feel her pain as if he were there watching as she collapsed in pain, cradling an infant to her breast. Their baby – his son; whom he’d never meet.

He must have cried out in pain for relief coursed through him and he felt his body relax. A hand squeezed his as the faces of his team blurred in front of him against the night sky. The grave consequences settled on his clear mind and he was at peace. There was no greater gift, than to lay down his life for another. He had given his life and a member of his team would return home to his family because of him. His thumb rubbed the naked skin around his ring finger as the darkness enveloped him.

*~* *~* *~*

Kono slowly lowered herself to the sand in what was known as her spot. She had taken to coming there every day since Steve had been deployed. There were many other spots she could have gone to feel closer to her husband but those places felt empty without him.

She penned her letters to Steve on this stretch of sand. She filled in the blanks in the baby book she was able to. And she filled the pages in a journal she had bought to depict day by day her pregnancy for Steve to read when he returned. So he wouldn’t feel as if he missed out on everything.

It was moving into month four of him being gone. And the days kept getting longer and the nights lonelier. Her due date was fast approaching. His latest letter had just arrived that morning was more subdued than his previous ones. He had resigned himself to missing the birth of his first child. And reading his words had torn at her heart. And it left her cursing the Government for sending her husband to wherever he was. She cursed whatever mission he was assigned to; cursed whoever created the fight he was enduring. The only place Steve should have been, was sitting right with her on the sands of a beach in Hawaii as they counted down the final moments together before they become parents.

The nursery had been finished a few weeks ago; having been put off in hopes that Steve would return to work on it himself. With the push from Chin and Danny, she gave in and allowed them to paint the walls, put up wall hangings, and assemble the baby furniture.

She spent the last week washing tiny baby clothes and putting them in dresser drawers. Blankets were folded and stacked within easy reach. Diapers, creams, lotions and other baby essentials were sitting on the changing table waiting for a bundle of joy to use them.

It had become her favorite room in the house and she would sit in the rocking chair at night, with her feet propped on the footstool, gazing out the window with a clear view of the ocean, in her arms, she’d hold a stuffed seal that had been a gift from her baby shower. She’d sit there in the chair, holding the seal and rocking, imagining her beautiful baby boy in her arms; imagining Steve leaning against the door jam watching them.

She gave a longing sigh as she looked out at the ocean. Steve was never far from her mind. She thought about him when she was at the office and she’d catch herself staring into his empty office. An office she made sure was kept clean. Every other day she would dust the surfaces, plaques and awards hanging on the walls. Sometimes, fingering his awards she’d feel closer to him.

It was in this spot on the beach she had decided on a name for their child; where she fingered the dried tear drop on the letter from Steve when he told her it was a perfect choice. And it was also in this spot where she had asked Danny and Chin to be in the delivery room with her in the absence of Steve. If Steve couldn’t be standing by her side, holding her hand as their child came into this world, she couldn’t think of anyone else she’d rather have at her side. And she knew Steve would want it too.

She had also asked them to record the birth. And after the mother of all rants from Danny, where he vehemently refused to ‘to get up close and personal with…that’, they agreed. A giggle escaped as she remembered the look on his face, the flying hands, the blush creeping from the open neck of his shirt.

The giggle turned into a gasp as pain shot through her lower abdomen. Her stomach constricted and she wrapped both arms around her tummy and let out a soft moan.

“Oh baby,” she cringed. “You would decide to come now in this place. I guess you feel your Daddy here too.” She reached for her phone, quickly dialing as she rubbed her stomach.

“Mrs. McGarrett under no circumstances are you coming into work. I don’t care how much you beg and plead or vow to kick my ass,” Danny said in lieu of hello. “You are staying home and resting up. Taking care of that baby who is—“

“Coming now,” Kono gritted as her stomach clenched again.

“What?” Danny exclaimed standing up so fast he sent his chair careening into the wall behind him. “Are you joking?”

“Am I joking? Doesn’t it sound like I’m joking!” Kono yelled at him. “Please hurry Danny. I’m at the beach.”

“Of course you are,” Danny rapidly knocked on Chin’s office, waving his hand in a hurry up motion. “We’re coming, right now. Just stay on the phone with us okay?”

Danny and Chin raced from headquarters jumping in Danny’s silver Camero. They placed Kono on speaker phone as Danny tore from the parking lot and zipped across the streets in moves that would have made Steve proud.

“How are you doing Cuz?” Chin asked.

“Just dandy…” Kono fell silent, save for a slight whimper. It caused Danny to press on the accelerator harder. “Oh,” she groaned. “My water just broke.”


	4. Chapter 4

Danny and Chin arrived at the beach within minutes and ran down to the sand where they saw Kono, knees to chest, hunched over. They fell to their knees beside her.

“Kono?”

“Just help me up,” Kono whispered, swiping away the tears. With each man on either side of her, they pulled her from the sand. Danny grabbed her things and they led her to his car, which still sat running, flashing blue lights from the grill. Both doors hung wide open.

“You’re just asking for a joy rider, Brah,” Kono groaned as they helped her to the car. 

“Are you kidding? Everyone on the island knows this car. Only an idiot would try to steal it.”

Chin crawled in the backseat, leaving the passenger seat for Kono. Danny slammed the door shut, running around to the driver’s side. “Danny, get my hospital bag. It’s in my car.” She tossed him the keys and took a deep breath.

Once the bag was retrieved and Danny was buckled in, he raced off toward the hospital “Should I be recording this?”

“I think Steve will be okay with missing this portion of the labor,” Kono breathed. “Just concentrate on getting us there in one piece, Brah.” She felt Chin place a hand on her shoulder and she reached up grasping his hand and squeezed as another contraction hit.

“Easy, Cuz,” Chin told her quietly. “Breathe. That’s it. Nice and easy.”

It was a blur the moment they arrived at Hawaii Medical Center. Kono was taken by wheel chair with Chin by her side leaving Danny to park the car and grab the bags before joining them on the labor and delivery floor. When he got there, Chin was waiting outside a door.

“They are getting her undressed, hooked up to the monitors and checking, “Chin explained seeing Danny’s confused expression. “They’ll let us back in, in a minute.”

Danny nodded and placed the bags on the floor before kneeling down and digging through one of the bags finding the video recorder. He turned it on, seeing the full battery and brand new CD already in place. Kono was on top of everything.

“Gentlemen,” the both looked up to see a nurse coming from Kono’s room. “You can come in now.”

They walked into the room and Danny was hit with the memories of long ago being in a room not unlike this one, waiting for the birth of his Grace. It was hard to believe that that was twelve years ago.

Kono lay in the bed, in a hospital gown. Somewhere along the way, she had pulled her hair up into a ponytail. There was an IV coming from her forearm and a pulse ox in her pointer finger. A blood pressure cuff was wrapped around her upper arm. On one side of the bed sat a warming table where the baby was going to be placed after birth and on the other side, held the IV drip and other monitors. A nurse was working quietly at a computer next to the monitors. On the opposing wall, there was a television and a bathroom.

“How are you feeling?” Chin took Kono’s hand.

“Sad. One of the happiest days of my life and I’m feeling sad because Steve’s not here.” She felt Chin squeeze her hand, reassuringly. “If it didn’t hurt so much, I’d cross my legs and wait.”

“I wouldn’t advise that,” Danny said as he angled the camera around the room, “Alright Daddy, since you couldn’t be here, and we all know how much you wished you could be. So we are stepping in your place. You should be proud of your wife. She’s doing real good.” He swung the camera back on Kono who gave a dazzling smile and waved to the camera. “She hasn’t threatened our lives yet, but that might change further along when the pain worsens.” He grinned at Kono from behind the camera.

“I hate you right now.” Kono glared at him.

“What a terrible thing to say to Steve,” Danny admonished causing laughter to break out. He walked over to the monitors and spoke into the camera. “As you can see your wife’s vitals are good. And this little graph is her contractions. As you can see no contraction right now.”

The nurse’s heart went out to the group in the room, obviously missing a vital part of their family. Pausing in her work, she hit a couple keys and soon a thwump-thwump filled the room. Laughter faded and talking ceased as the occupants listened to the heart beat. She met the blue eyes of the blonde man behind the camera. She smiled and nodded at his mouthed ‘thank you’.

The afternoon hours waned. They passed the hours by surfing through the channels on the television, playing cards, napping and talking into the camera to Steve, even giving him a shot of Kono’s full pregnancy belly. The camera now lay dark, waiting for the moment of actual delivery.

Danny and Chin were talking quietly when a swift intake of breath from the bed alerted them that Kono, who had been napping after getting an epidural, was awake. They both rose and moved to her side, each taking a hand.

“Kono? What’s wrong?”

“I feel weird,” Kono stated glancing at the monitor seeing a wave of contraction. But with the epidural she didn’t feel anything. She had held out as long as she could, but the pain became unbearable. So she had broken down and requested the epidural.

“Just wait,” Chin let go and left the room in search of a nurse.

“You’re doing great, Kono,” Danny told her, giving her hand a squeeze. “Steve would be real proud of you.”

“I wish he was here,” Kono murmured quietly her eyes filling with tears.

Danny used his free hand to press her head against his chest in a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I know you do. We all do.”

“Alright, Mrs. McGarrett,” the blonde nurse walked into the room, followed closely by Chin. “Let’s see what’s going on here.”

Danny and Chin stayed at the top of the bedside beside Kono, keeping their eyes averted as the nurse lifted the blankets covering Kono’s bottom half.

“I think we are ready to have a baby,” the nurse stated with a grin, replacing the blankets.

“Show time,” Danny grinned and he let go of Kono to grab the camera.

*~* *~* *~*

“He’s so beautiful,” Kono whispered the next morning. She cradled her baby to her breast as he lay sleeping swaddled in a standard hospital receiving blanket.

“You did great,” Danny kept his voice soft so not to disturb the sleeping baby. “Sorry to say he looks exactly like Steve.”

“Yeah,” A smile played at her lips as she stared down at the little baby. She ran a finger down his check, causing him to release a squeak. “You wanna hold him?”

Danny shot Kono a wide grin. “You don’t have to ask me twice.” He greedily reached out and carefully took the baby from its mother’s arms. He fidgeted beneath the blanket before settling back down.

“You okay, Cuz?” Chin asked watching the scene in front of him.

“Yeah, I just need to go to the bathroom.” Kono moved in small movements to push herself into a fully sitting position.

“You need help?” Chin watched his cousin carefully ready to jump up and do whatever she needed done.

“Yeah, just,” she trailed off reaching an arm out. In seconds Chin was standing by her side allowing Kono to use him as leverage and she carefully stood up from the bed. She slid her feet into the slippers on the floor.

Chin adjusted the hospital gown making sure the back was closed. He answered Kono’s smile with one of his own and watched as she walked to the bathroom unassisted.

“Can you get my bag?” Kono pointed to the small duffle that held all the essentials that she thought she’d need for the hospital. “I want to get out of this gown and into my own clothes.” She wanted to take a shower, but needed to wait until the nurse removed the capped off IV from her forearm. She hadn’t been hooked up to anything since a couple hours after the birth, but the needle was still in her arm as a ‘just in case’ precautionary measure.

Chin grabbed the bag and took it into the bathroom himself, placing it the floor. “If you need something, just let us know okay? It’s okay to ask for help. That’s what we are here for.”

Chin turned back to the room and grinned when he saw Danny sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, talking to the baby. He grabbed the video camera from the small table and turned it on zooming in on man and baby.

“Since your Daddy’s not here,” Danny told the sleeping baby. “Allow me to educate you on some things before he gets here to corrupt you. It is never okay to hang someone off a building to get them to talk or throw them in the shark tanks.”

“How about placing a live grenade in a suspect’s hands, Uncle Danny?” Chin called out with a grin on his face. It widened when he saw Danny look up and into the camera.

“Now that was still your Daddy’s fault. You hang out with him long enough you’re gonna find yourself doing things you normally shouldn’t do. Like going into a building without backup. Now that, Little Man usually ends up getting your Uncle Danno shot.”

Chin snorted but kept the camera trained on them.

“And you never drive at a ridiculous speed, weaving in and out of traffic, performing u-turns in intersections. That’s not good for your Uncle Danno’s heart.” Danny continued to talk to his best friend’s baby. “Most importantly though, you never ever put pineapple on pizza!”

“What are you teaching my baby?” Kono asked as she came out of the bathroom dressed in stretchy lounge pants and a navy blue t-shirt with a gold emblem over the right breast. She felt one hundred percent improved just being in her regular clothes alone.

“Nothing that he doesn’t need to know,” Danny grinned.

“Give me my baby,” Kono rolled her eyes playfully and reached out to take her son from Danny’s arms. His forehead crinkled at the jostling and she pressed a kiss against his soft skin. She nuzzled her baby as Chin captured it all. She opened her eyes and smiled seeing blue eyes gazing up at her.

“Hello baby,” she smiled, keeping her face close to her son’s. “Don’t you listen to anything your Uncle Danny tells you. There is nothing wrong with your Daddy. He doesn’t need to change a thing.”

Danny scoffed, “He’s gonna watch this video, don’t encourage him.” He couldn’t keep the smile off his face. 

“Say hi to Daddy,” Kono encouraged as Chin moved closer with the camera. She pulled the blanket away from the baby, releasing his arm. His hand was clenched in a tiny fist. She worked her finger beneath his fingers and grinned when he clenched his own fingers again, trapping her finger. She gave her hand a little shake imitating a wave “Hi Daddy,” she smiled at the camera before turning back to her son. “We miss you. We love you very much.”

The adults broke out into laughter when the baby gave a tiny yawn and promptly closed his eyes again.

*~* *~* *~*

“Sir,” Steve struggled to sit up in his hospital bed when he saw the officer walk into his hospital room only to stop when the captain raised his hand.

“Don’t,” The captain made his way to the Lieutenant Commander’s bed. “I just talked to the Doc. You’re gonna be fine, Son. Nothing a little R and R can’t fix. You were mighty lucky though.”

Steve nodded in agreement. He was lucky. If he had been a second too slow, if he had hesitated he wouldn’t be lying in the hospital bed. He would have been on a much lower floor. 

“From what I hear, these injuries are nothing compared to what you get yourself into in Hawaii.” He smiled at the SEAL, patting his leg. “You’ve got some friends in mighty high places, McGarrett.” He reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a piece of paper, folded three times. He opened up it, revealing a smaller picture nestled inside. “This came through from Hawaii and I thought I’d best deliver it myself. It’s not often I get to be the barer of good news.”

He held out the papers in his hand to the Lieutenant Commander. “Congratulations.”

Steve grasped them, his eyes dropping from the smiling captain. His breath caught when he saw the printed off picture of a baby wrapped in a hospital issued blanket, a blue hat sitting on top of his head, hiding the dark tuffs of hair. His blue eyes staring wide into the camera.

The folded paper came from an e-mail printed off and he skipped over the heading to the message.

 _Please inform Lt. Cmdr. Steven J. McGarrett that it’s a boy! John Daniel McGarrett was born at 6:39pm HST on October 8th, 2015 at Hawaii Medical Center. He weighed 6lbs 10oz. And was 19 inches long. Mother and baby are doing great but are missing him. Aloha._

The Commander slipped from the room as the SEAL clutched the photograph, a sob escaping as tears rolled down his cheeks.


	5. Chapter 5

The plane touched down back on the airstrip at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base nearly five months after one similar had taken off. That plane taking Steve away from his family. And in those months he’d been gone so much had changed.

Five-O had turned a year older. He had missed the anniversary of the day the task force was created. The team, barring any ongoing cases, always went out for drinks and dinner; sharing stories on past cases. The talking and laughter always carried long into the night.

Little Gracie had turned a year older. She entered the final year before becoming a teenager and he had missed her party. He hadn’t even been able to buy her a present. Grace had written a letter depicting everything that happened at her party. Much to Danny’s chagrin the party had been coed. And he knew how his partner felt about it because Danny’s letter arrived a day after Grace’s and it included the mother of all rants.

The most important change of all, the Five-O family had grown by one. His family had grown. His son, named after his father, had been born into this world while he was half a world away. And it hurt the most that he hadn’t been able to be in the hospital room with Kono, holding her hand, offering encouragement, comfort and anything else she needed. It hurt that he wasn’t there to hear his son’s first cry, to cut the umbilical cord and hold him in his arms during the first minutes of his eyes. He hated not being able to hold his wife, wipe the tears she no doubt had shed. It was a milestone for his family and there was a gaping hole where he should have been standing.

His body protested the movements as he stood up. He’d only spent a week in the hospital recovering. While trying to save a member of his team, a grenade had exploded, spraying them with shrapnel. The blast from the grenade propelled them backward and slammed them into the ground earning them both concussions. During the fast seconds, he had also caught a bullet to the shoulder. The doctor explained to him the way his body had been positioned while he was saving his team member allowed the bullet to pass through his shoulder without hitting anything major. It was a complete through and through.

He shouldered his pack, groaning through the pain. Nothing was going to stop him from walking off this plane to the members of his family outside, waiting anxiously. He was slightly nervous. He was meeting his son for the first time. John was a week old already. A week of Kono able to nail down a schedule of feedings, naps and diaper changes all without his help.

He walked down the ramp, his pace slower than he wanted it to be. The Hawaii air met him and he breathed deep. He was home. The pain he was feeling disappeared when he saw the welcoming party standing a few yards away from the plane.

He watched as his wife broke away from the group. He was unable to stop the smile on his face and he let his pack fall back to the ground at his feet. He barely had enough time to raise his arms before Kono had hers firmly wrapped around him. A groan of pain escaped and he felt her stiffen against him. But before she could pull away he had both arms around her holding her tight. He ignored his protesting shoulder and buried his face in her hair breathing deeply.

“Steve,” Kono’s voice cracked, tears rolled down her cheeks. She made no attempt to stop or hide them. The cammies felt rough against her cheek but it didn’t stop her from nuzzling his chest. She held him as tight as she dared. He was home.

His body trembled. He felt his eyes water and he clenched them shut allowing a tear to escape. He gave a shuddering breath. He had come close to never experiencing this moment; to never being able to hold Kono in his arms again.

Kono lifted her head from Steve’s chest and her eyes met his blue orbs for the first time in five months. She cupped his face, palming both cheeks. Her thumbs caressed his skin brushing away a lone tear track. She lightly fingered a still healing cut on his temple. Her eyes scanned the rest of his face for new wounds and scars before settling back on his eyes.

“I’m okay,” Steve said, his voice vibrating through her. He met her raised eyebrow with one of his own. He smiled and brought his hands up, palming her cheeks much like she was. “Like I told you on the phone, it’s nothing that won’t heal in a couple weeks. It’s not serious.”

Two days after being injured, Steve had been able to finagle a phone call home. Knowing the Navy wouldn’t notify her of his injury, he did it himself. He hated having to kill the excitement that had been laced through her voice at his call but he couldn’t not tell her. He had been able to talk to all members of his team as they were gathered at his house. It cheered him up tremendously. The fifteen minute call hadn’t been long enough for him.

“I know,” Kono whispered. “But until I see it for myself, I’ll still worry.” She applied slight pressure against his cheeks to pull his face toward hers. Her lips met his and she sank into him with a sigh. Her hands moved from his cheeks to around his neck, her fingers displacing the cover on his head. It fell forgotten to the ground.

“I missed you,” Steve murmured against her lips. He kissed her again before resting his forehead against hers. His hands still cradling her face.

“I missed you,” she kissed his lips lightly before reaching into her pocket. She opened her hand, exposing the item. The sun glinted off the metal.

Steve smiled as he stared at his wedding ring and he plunked it from her hand and slid it back on his ring finger. “It was weird not wearing it.”

“You remember that,” Kono threatened.

Steve laughed and kissed her again. “You have nothing to worry about.” Movement behind Kono caught his eye and he lifted his gaze to find his team moving forward after giving him and Kono a private moment to themselves.

Kono clasped Steve’s hand with hers, bringing his attention back to her. “Are you ready to meet you son?”

A lump rose in his throat and he felt butterflies in his stomach. His eyes must have shown his fear for his wife smiled at him and squeezed his hand reassuringly. His eyes left hers again, glancing at his team. This time, he caught sight of the bundle in his partner’s arms.

Unable to tear his gaze away, he moved on his own. His wife’s hand dropped from his hold as he walked around her. His eyes never left the blue blanket in Danny’s arms. He stopped in front of Danny, gazing down at the sleeping baby, nestled so comfortably. Danny made it look so easy. He could fire many weapons, hold his breath under water for longer than the average person, go into intense situations knowing something could happen to him, face down the Governor, go into a war torn country to help a friend without backup but the thought of holding his own child scared him.

“Meet your son, John Daniel,” Danny said softly. And without giving his partner any time to think, carefully placed the baby in Steve’s arms.

Steve felt himself freeze as his arms held the tiny baby against him. He had handled weapons heavier than this. John’s arms flailed at the movement and his body tensed. Steve held his breath staring down at his son. He prayed in his head, hoping John would settle down and not start crying.

“Relax, Brah,” Chin said, looking up from behind the video screen, catching the moment on tape.

Kono slid an arm around her husband’s waist as she stood at his side and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

Steve calmed himself down, his posture relaxing. His shifted his hold on his son, better cradling him. He brought a finger up and rubbed the baby’s cheek, feeling the soft skin against his rough, calloused finger. When John squirmed again, Steve prided himself for not tensing. He continued to stroke his cheek as John settled back down.

He felt his heart expand. He raised his arms slightly, ignoring the dull ache in his shoulder. Nothing would make him hand his son back over. He lowered his head. “Hi John, I’m your Daddy,” he whispered to his son before placing a kiss on his forehead. “I’m sorry for not being here until now, but I will be here from now on. I love you.” His eyes closed feeling tears well in them as he hugged his child.

Kono tightened her arm around Steve’s waist and brought her other arm around to cradle their son. Tears fell down her cheeks but she made no move to brush them away. This would be a scene she would remember forever. Nothing could displace seeing Steve, dressed in his cammies, cradling their child to him as tears silently slid down his face.

Steve pulled back to look at Kono, “I love you.” He lifted his hand away from John’s cheek to wrap it around Kono’s waist, securing her to his side. When she tilted her face toward him, he placed a kiss on her lips. “Thank you.”

Kono smiled softly at him, the love shining in her eyes. “I love you too.”

He kissed her again before looking back at his son, unable to take his eyes off him for a long period of time. His heart stumbled, seeing eyes, so much like his own, openly staring back at him. “Hi,” he whispered through the smile permanently etched on his face. “I’m your Daddy.” He gasped seeing the slight lift on one side of John’s face. “He smiled at me!”

“Probably just gas,” Danny said the emotional meeting touching the darkest places in his heart. He wasn’t sure he could ever forget the look on his partner’s face when he saw John for the first time. He felt a little sad though. From the time Kono had been released from the hospital, he had been sleeping in the guest bedroom helping her out as she settled into being a new parent. Now that Steve was home, he would move back to his place, no longer needed.

“Why you gotta ruin it?” Steve spared a glance at his partner.

“Just wait to you see his outfit.”

“There better not be a shirt and tie underneath this blanket, Danny,” Steve carefully pulled the blanket away from John and laughed seeing his son dressed in the smallest pair of cargo pants he had ever seen.

“You ready to go home, Brah?” Chin asked, turning off the video camera and closing the view finder.

Steve stared at John for a few more seconds before looking up at his team. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
